Beware of Scrum

Scrum is one of the biggest process invention but it does not guarantee success. Even creators of Scrum accept that more than half of the Scrum implementation does not go well. Why is that? Scrum is critical but what is more critical than Scrum? Moving from waterfall model to Scrum is a welcoming change that makes people think in the right direction. So what is the right direction?

If a person with ongoing back pain visits the doctor then doctor certainly suggests to do exercises or yoga to make body agile enough to get rid of pains. If that person is wise like me then he starts doing exercises and pain disappears. Exercises don't cure pain overnight. It requires a regular routine. Isn't it common to see pain appear again when exercises are stopped?

In this example "routine is Scrum" and "exercises are agility". A healthy person needs routine as well as exercises. Similarly, a good projects or organizations need both Scrum as well Agility.

Let's extend our example little further and review the root cause of the pain. Main reason behind this person's pain is routine of sitting in a chair with bad posture for a long time. Similarly, root cause for failed Scrum project is routine of not practicing agility for a long time.

In a nutshell, Scrum forces people to think in the right direction i.e. agility. As you can understand, routine is important but exercises are critical. Hence, Agility is more critical than Scrum. The following video depicts relationship of Scrum and Agility in great details with an creative analogy. Here are the key learning objectives:

15 comments:

Thanks Jeff. I just use keynotes (powerpoint) equivalent of apple. I am sure that powerpoint can do it too but not as beautifully as keynotes does. Tool is a simple thing. Getting the content right requires huge effort.

Do you know to what extend they may be using agile when building an airplane? A modern aircraft is not only engines and materials but has also lots of software. I am sure that quality is more important than an average business tool.

Good question Ion. I read a nice article published in a journal - "Challenges for Agile Development of Large Systems in the Aviation Industry". I will forward it to you. Here is the conclusion mentioned in this article:

"As mentioned, the aviation industry will not avert delivery delays completely by the agile approach. However, agile development is a promising instrument to diminish the risk of the development process considerably. Progress on this issue will make the aviation industry more open for more product variety and innovation in order to tackle the challenges of future mobility."